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Its that time of year where everything is spook - tacular and I’m absolutely here for it. 

As I’ve transitioned into a more plastic free and sustainable lifestyle, I’ve become more aware of even the most innocent traditions that have environmental complications. I’m not one to ruin a party so here’s a few ways to keep the spirit of halloween alive…or dead! 

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Master Of Disguise

Oh how I love a Halloween party firstly for candy but secondly for the dressing up! Unfortunately the textile industry contributes to 1.2billion tonnes of greenhouse gases each year so instead of purchasing a new outfit maybe you could utilise one of my suggestions below.

Recycle an old costume from previous years. I don’t know about you but I have an entire storage box dedicated to costumes that I cannot bare to let go of just yet. If your in a similar boat to me then go through and mix match some outfits to create new ones!

Masks. Instead of purchasing a mask, use a toxin free faceprint thats cruelty free. So easy!

Swap with your friends. If you have friends like mine, this is almost always an upcycle as they have very expensive taste and lucky for me I’m allowed to borrow their outfits.

Make a costume out of items at home. Great outfit inspiration can start from an old pair of cowboy boots or flanno.

Hire a costume. There are some great costume places around that have a two day hire. I love this concept as it allows you have something ‘new' and generally they have all the accessories to go with it. Bonus is they wash it for you too.

Go to a thrift store. You don’t have to tell me twice, I LOVE thrift stores! Go hunting for some treasures that would otherwise end up in landfill. You might be surprised at what people actually throw out.

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Sweet Tooth

My favourite part of Halloween, candy, sweet sweet candy (Simpsons reference). This year try to change it up for the trick or treaters. Unfortunately candy comes with so much plastic, each is individually wrapped for safety reasons but it does cause alot of excess plastic. A way to combat this is giving sweets that are boxed in cardboard, think Nerds, Gobstoppers, Juniors, MnM’s, Runts and Skittles. Another idea is give out items like biodegradable temporary tattoos or mini colouring sets.

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Jack O Lantern

In the US alone two billion pounds of pumpkins are harvested each year and the majority end up in landfill, yikes! We have a few solutions though to be more sustainable and yet still not contribute to the green house emissions from landfill. Firstly get your pumpkin from a local grocer, keeping everything as local as possible is also apart of sustainability. Turn the pulp pumpkin you would have thrown out into delicious dishes. Maybe even make it a challenge to have a cook off each year, one person can do a main pumpkin meal and the other a pumpkin dessert etc. You could even make it that the loser has to clean up all the Halloween decorations, get a little competitive with it lol. 

Once Halloween is over you can throw your pumpkin into the compost, break them up for the wildlife to enjoy or if possible take them to a local farmer so they can feed them to their animals. 

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What Goes Around Comes Around

Choose loot bags that can be reused. Possibilities are reusable cotton and tote bags, buckets or hessian bags that you can even tie into your costume theme. (Think the scare crow from the Wizard Of Oz carrying a hessian bag for loot, cute!) You can reuse them year after year or utilise them for other purposes. 

Everything in life should be done with balance. Being more conscious of our purchasing behaviour for events like Halloween doesn’t mean we have to cancel our celebrations, we’re simply putting more thought into the planning to help the planet and our future whilst still enjoying the festivities. 

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Enjoy your green Halloween.

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